Boys in need of rescuing
by Ottawa gal
Summary: -On Hold - Sirius comes back one month after falling in the veil to find Harry nearly dead, and Neville on the Run. How will the excaped convict save these boys from thier relatives?
1. The Beginning

Where the story starts

In a small quite town in the outskirts of London on a rainy day, a room in an abandoned cottage started glowing. Were any muggle to look inside the abandoned room, they would have run away in fright. But were it a wizard or witch; they would have seen a full panel wooden mirror vibrating with green light. Unnoticed would have been the carvings surrounding it, for within two minutes of the bright lights and shaking, everything went still and quiet once again.

Unless you happened to noticed the unconscious man who fell out of the mirror into a heap on the floor.

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In another part of London, a boy was wondering around his house, his thin hands held out in front of him as he made his way through towards his destination. His eyes tense and squinting, he peered his way through the hallway.

Quietly, this emerald eyed boy stepped down the carpeted staircase, making sure to skip any stairs he deemed loud. For he knew, he was not to wake up anyone is this house. This house was not forgiving to boys like him. Boys who were punished for returning… Punished by having their glasses taken and destroyed, or having his food taken away.

But this boy was not the sort of boy who should have been punished by others, for he did much of that to himself already. Blaming himself for the death of his god father, Harry accepted any punishment that came his way. Harry never even knew that he was slowly dying. His hunger went away, his energy slowly dwindled, but Harry never knew. All he knew was that he was a murderer, and would take any punishment given.

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And in Ireland, Neville Longbottom woke up to the screams of his grandmother.


	2. lost

Lost

Sirius woke up smelling like dirty moldy socks. Upon opening his eyes, he realized it was not him that smelled, but the laundry that was his make-shift bed.

He groaned, crinking his neck from side to side before trying to wake himself up with a huge yawn.

He looked around, not sure where he was.

"Harry?" He yelled, listening for any noise. Memories shot through his head, Grimmauld place, He-who-should-not-be-named, the ministry, the death eaters, the veil.

"Shit"

Sirius frantically made his way down the stairs, then out the door way before remembering he was considered an escaped convict, and quickly changed into Padfoot the dog.

He ran through the empty streets, searching for any sort of magical signature. Finding one down the street, he ran towards it.

He looked around and found a man sitting at a table inside a diner. Sirius could see the The Daily Prophet, and hid under a nearby table.

Patience was never a strong point for Sirius, so when the man got up to order another coffee, Sirius jumped up and grabbed the paper before running fiercely out of the diner, ignoring the yelling customer behind him. He continued into an abandoned building and changed back to human.

His hands trembled as he flipped through the paper, looking for any sort of news about Harry. Four pages in, he saw an article "Boy who lived endangered Ministry Files".

Then looking at the top of the page, he saw the date.

Over one month.

Sirius had been missing over an entire month. Everyone must be going crazy, thinking he was missing!

He looked around him, and not finding a quill, took to looking around the house. He finally found a pen and some paper and wrote a note to both Harry and Remus.

Sirius quickly turned back to a dog, and ran back towards the diner. He saw an owl arrive, changed back to a human and waited for it to leave before whistling it towards him.

"Here boy, can you deliver both these for me? Don't wait for a response." The owl hooted back at him, and took flight.

Sirius changed back to a dog, fighting the tiredness that was coming from the animagus transformations. He jumped towards the fireplace and pulled the floo powder down with him as he entered the fireplace, hoping that it would get him where he needed to go.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" He yelled, which came out as a loud series of barks. Nothing happened, and he watched as the matron of the place came marching angrily towards him. He tried again, more forcefully, and was surprised when the fire blazed alive.

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Back in Ireland

Neville's eyes popped open and he froze in bed.

Again a scream pierced through the mansion, followed by a muffled sobbing that was definitely his grandmother.

Neville lowered his feet to the ground, grabbing his wand as he went. He crouched by his door way, slowing peering into the hallway.

It was clear.

He made his way through his home, the place he grew up, and hoped that he would not be inheriting it any time soon.

Again she screamed, and Neville's hair on his neck stood up as he heard a man speaking. A voice Neville could never forget.

Lucius Malfoy.

Neville made his way to the kitchens, the room opposite of where his grandmother was. He thanked Merlin that he had not tripped and fell. He knew he was clumsy, and he was very glad his body was not tangling him now when he needed it the most.

He placed his hand on an ancient painting of a long dead relative, and watched as his grayed ancestor faded from view, and in its place, his grandmother cowering on the ground.

"Neville!" announced someone from behind, stealing his wand, "how nice of you to finally join us!" Neville's eyes bulged as he recognized his uncle Pratheus, his father's older brother. Neville was lucky enough to have only met this man a few times in his life, as he was a known death eater.

And today, Neville was just unlucky enough to meet him again.

The excited man grabbed Neville by the hair on head and pointed him to the sitting room, his pot belly pushing Neville forward. Neville thought for a moment that his uncle would rival Professor Snape on lack of hygiene, but was quickly brought back from this thought at seeing Malfoy towering over his grandmother as his uncle passed him Neville's wand.

"Ah, Longbottom, so nice to see you again" said Malfoy, practically purring. Only one month after the incident at the department of ministries, Neville knew Malfoy would not be easily sedated.

Neville looked around the room for a way to get him and his grandmother away. "Tsk Tsk Neville, have you no shame?" teased Malfoy, pointing his wand at his grandmother once again.

"Tell us what we want to hear, and perhaps we shall let your grandmother live"

Neville looked up at the man, and noticed his grandmother's blood on Malfoy's hands. She was bleeding from her mouth, coughing up blood. Neville's eyes narrowed, and he did not respond.

"Wrong answer" Malfoy said, his eyes lighting up for a moment before he turned away from Neville.

"Crucius" Malfoy declared blandly, cursing Neville's grandmother, the woman who raised him.

"Now Neville" said Pratheus, "I was considering taking you under my wing for the remainder of the Summer, then sending you to Durmstang where I could train you more fitting a Longbottom, but something just kept getting in the way."

Pratheus continued talking, sparing only a patronizing glare towards Neville's grandmother lying on the ground. "Your grandmother would not relinquish you over to me. Now, there are two ways this can go. I can kill her, making you automatically come under my guidance or" he stopped, turned, and stared into Neville's eyes, "You can allow her to live by proclaiming me your sole guardian."

Neville's face went white, but he quickly came back to his senses.

"If you give me your word that you will not harm her further, I will do so" he said quietly, his stomach in knots.

"That's my dear boy" Pratheus exclaimed, yanking Neville again by his hair, and pulling him in front of his grandmother. Neville noticed her breathing stopped, but also noticed a necklace dangling from her neck. The necklace was shaped like the phoenix, and Neville remembered that it was a portkey for the Order of the Phoenix. Why hadn't she used it and saved herself!

"Malfoy, if you would" Pratheus said. Neville was watching his grandmother intently, and missed the grin he sent Malfoy.

"No harm shall come to your grandmother should you accept yourself as Pratheus Damius Longbottom's heir. I give my word as a wizard" said Malfoy.

"I accept" Neville whispered, leaning in to his grandmother. He watched her eyes close, and knew she needed help immediately to survive. The magic swirled around Pratheus and Neville, and soon Neville could feel that he now was Pratheus's heir.

"Avada ka-" started Pratheus, as Nevilles head snapped up to him. No No No! Neville yanked Malfoy in front of him as he yelled "Sanctuary" His grandmother disappeared from the ground, and Neville felt Malfoy fall on top of him, the green light fading from Malfoy's body.

"What have you done boy!" yelled Pratheus, who yanked Malfoy's body off of Neville.

Neville did not have a moment to think, as he grabbed his wand from Malfoy's robe, and ran out of the room to the back den. He felt the heat of a curse pass his head as he lurched towards the fire place.

"The leaky cauldron!" Neville yelled, throwing the entire pot of floo powder into the fireplace with him.

Once the spinning stopped, and Neville was spit from the fireplace, he tore off into the wizarding streets of Diagon alley.

And after him ran a black haired dog that looked daringly like a grim.

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Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, warily waiting for the water to boil on the stove. He knew he was not allowed to sit here, but he was so tired, and his relatives were not in the room. He rested his forehead against the table, and started dozing off.

He jerked awake, as a Hooting came in through the kitchen window.

Harry looked up and saw a brown barn owl, its head directly in front of the glass. Harry painstakingly made his way towards the owl, his limbs stiff, and opened the window. His breathing deepened over the exhaustion of the physical movement, and he reached out of house towards the owl.

"Hey girl" he said, to which the owl bit him lightly. "Ah, so you're a boy huh?" Harry asked, untying the note from her foot as the owl stared at him.

"Thank you" Harry whispered, putting the note in his pant pocket as the owl took off.

Harry made his way back to the stove to see that the water had boiled away, and frowned at the burn marks on the bottom of the pot.

Harry turned his head as he listened for his uncle. He could hear him coming down the stairs, along with his aunt, and he hadn't finished cooking breakfast yet.

Yet Harry was too tired to care, something that would prove to be a near-fatal mistake.


	3. connections

Remus lupin was sitting in the living room of Grimmauld Place, feeling quite like banging his head repeatedly against the stone table, something he'd seen Sirius do plenty of times while frustrated.

Only Remus' wariness kept him from this, as Severus once again continued his insulting rage again him. Really, thought Remus; how many times of the same insult!

Severus just kept ranting on. "You idiotic excuse for a wizard, did you not think for one moment that perhaps you should have checked up on the flea bitten mutt? No, it was too much to expect a werewolf to actually check up on anything. Instead, I have to risk my neck as a spy because your sorry ass was too busy-"

Molly walked in, pursed her lips, and then walked in front of Severus mid rant.

"Have you anything else to say, Severus?" she asked in a low voice. Professor Snape tried his best to look fearsome and scowled darkly, but did not continue. Everyone who knew Molly knew better then to push her limits.

"Remus dear" Molly continued, turning away from Severus, "An owl is in the kitchen with a paper addressed to you"

"Thank you Molly" Remus replied with a tired smile, rising from the couch to go the kitchen. He knew that Molly was watching him with worry, but he could not complain. He knew she had something to worry about.

Remus went up to the owl that was being fed bacon by Ron, and detached the paper. Unraveling the note, he found a very messily scrawled message.

"Moony, I'm ok, and am making my way back to the headquarters. Sorry I took so long, but I only woke up today. I will explain things when I get back.

Be there.

Padfoot"

Remus froze. Then reread the message, then closed his eyes.

"Professor?" asked Ron, looking worriedly towards his mother. Molly made her way towards Remus but stopped as Remus started sniffing the letter frantically.

After a few minutes of him smelling the letter, Remus dropped it carelessly on the table, then slid to the chair, and covered his face with his arms as he started crying. Ron watched panicked, getting out of the way as Molly went over to comfort Remus.

"Now, what's this all about, Remus?" asked Molly softly.

"Sirus is alive."

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Padfoot was resting under a table at the Leaky Cauldron, thinking of a way to try the floo again. Mine as well go for what works best, he figured. He was about to jump the mantle again and grab the floo powder when the fire lit up. He jumped back, but soon ran forward as he caught sight of Neville Longbottom's face. Complete fear.

He followed Neville down the streets and far back into knock turn alley. He trotted after Neville once he stopped running.

Neville's heart was pounding, he had just killed someone! He couldn't breath, his grandmother might be dead! And he sure as hell couldn't stop running, but he was out of breathe. He leaned against a brick wall, and peered down the entrance of the alley to see if Pratheus was following, and jumped back forward at seeing the Grim.

"oh merlin, you're the Grim, I'm going to die!" Neville shrieked, hyperventilating, his wand falling to the ground as he gripped the wall behind him.

Padfoot walked slowly towards Neville, whining. He picked up the wand in his mouth, and nugged Neville with his wet nose.

"oh Merlin, oh Merlin" repeated Neville, sobbing into his hands. "what have I done?"

Padfoot debated with what he should do. Did Neville know that he was innocent, should he remain a dog in case? Harry would not have told anyone, Sirius surmised, and he would be able to help more as a dog anyways. He looked at the boy curled up sobbing in front of him, and decided going back to Grimmauld place would have to wait. He would help Alice and Frank Longbottom's son.

He pushed himself against Neville. Neville tried pushing him away weakly, but padfoot continued.

"So," sniffed Neville, "I guess you can't be a Grim, because your real, right? If you were just a vision, I'd be done for" Neville said, more to himself then anything. He grabbed the dog around the neck and hugged him.

"Thank you for calming me down" said Neville. "Now what am I to do? Who do I go to find out if grandma is ok? Hogwarts? What if he finds me, I can't go with him, and I can't. I'm such an idiot, agreeing to Malfoy. That left him right open to kill grandma."

Neville looked down at Padfoot sadly, "I didn't' mean to kill him, but I couldn't let them kill her, you understand?" Padfoot nodded his head yes, and Neville jumped.

"Well" said Neville nervously, "you weren't actually suppose to understand but since you do, I'll guess you don't want to hurt me?" he asked weakly.

Padfoot just nodded his head a little stronger, then pushed Neville's wand back into his hand.

"Thanks, I guess I have to figure something out, right?" said Neville, looking around him.

He grabbed some dirty sheets from the garbage behind him and casted a scourgify on them.

"This will have to do, right?" he looked down at the dog. He petted padfoot and was rewarded with a sticky licking of his hand.

"Right" laughed Neville, wiping his tears off his face. He threw the blanket over him as a shawl, covering his head and face except his eyes, and headed back out into the ally towards Hogwarts.

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At Hogwarts, Poppy the head nurse, was awoken from her daily nap to the emergency alarm going off. She ran towards the back of the hospital and muttered "Quincy" before rushing through the doorway that opened.

Lying on the bed was Neville's grandmother, one of the members of the order of the Phoenix.

Poppy had no time to notify anyone as she was very near death. Poppy started muttering off spells to try to keep the woman alive, hoping it was not too late.

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Harry was in pain. That was all he knew, Pain

He did not hear his uncles words anymore, he did not feel the dampness of the closet, and he did not feel the broken cot underneath him digging into his ribs. Everything hurt.

That's why, when the door bell rang, he did not hear anything.

"Are you sure this is the house?" asked Tonks, her curly blond locks of hair swirling around her head.

"Yes, Nymp, I am positive" muttered Remus playfully, rolling his eyes. He rang the door bell again, and heard foot steps coming towards them.

Remus could not keep the grin from his face, Harry would be so surprised to find out Sirius was still alive.

The door opened, and Petunia's sharp face peered at the two, before turning white. She slammed the door quickly and locked it, then started yelling hysterically for Vernon.

Remus blinked, then looked at Tonks. "You may go ahead" he indicated.

Tonks grinned and said "Alohomora" before opening the door and walking in.

Remus followed her, but then stood stark still. Tonks turned to say something, but froze at his expression.

"I smell blood" he said frowning.

He walked slowly towards the kitchen. Tonks heard Vernon and Petunia stomping down the stairs yelling at them to leave, but she threw a stupefy spell at them that froze them where they were. She kept watching Remus as he turned confused to look at a cupboard under the stairs.

He narrowed his eyes, and yanked open the door, ripping the locks from the wall. Tonks ran forward at the look of anguish that went over his face, as he kneeled into the hole.

"Harry? Harry?" he said, trying to get the boy to talk.


End file.
